Going Home

It's really strange but at the ripe old age of 52 I find myself going out to the garage, standing just inside the doorway, staring out into the great abyss with a "blank" look on my face trying desperately to remember why I'm there. I  have to wear my reading glasses, sunglasses and soon probably a name tag around my neck. My keys, wallet and phone have a resting spot just inside the front door so they are usually easy to find. As for me personally I'm considering getting chipped.

However, with my short term memory going  I can still remember a couple of things from when I was just a small infant maybe less than a year old. Weird huh?  I also have this  recollection, memory or maybe it is a dream fragment of being stranded on a Pacific atoll with a gentle breeze blowing, small waves breaking on the shore and a small bamboo watchtower standing as a lone monument. There are no palm trees or plants of any kind, no animals and I don't recall other people being there?. Just the water, sun, bamboo hut on stilts and some cookies on a plate inside the hut.

Since we can trace all our genealogy back to the garden east of Edan, maybe there are residual memories that kinda come along with us through generations? What would it have been like to tend the original garden? To walk with God in the coolness of the morning? Before our fall into sin we enjoyed a completely different kind of existence. Its really hard to construct in our minds what that might have looked like. There is however a future place where we were given a brief but stunning look, the new Jerusalem.

"Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."  He showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. She had a great high wall with twelve gates, three on each side of the cube. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations. He measured the city with a reed. Its  length, height and width were all twelve thousand furlongs or fifteen hundred miles long. That adds up to 2.25 million square miles.

The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the walls were adorned with precious stones. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. No sun, no moon because the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life will be allowed in the great city. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of the street on either side of the river was the tree of life.The leaves are for the healing of the nations and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

At this point John falls down on his face to worship the angel who is showing him this heavenly vision.
"See that you do not do that, For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets and of those who keep the words of this book."  the angel replies.
And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

In light of this description of heaven I really don't mind losing my short term memory. Memories of this condemned, cursed dying world. For I now know that  death is just the beginning of a great journey where all these incredible things will be a reality.  I am ready to go to be with my Lord Jesus Christ. I know what the apostle Paul was speaking of when he said  "To live is Christ, but to die is gain". Glory to God!

The Church Family

What do I wanna be when I grow up?  I wonder if I will ever grow up. What is God's will for my life? Maybe a Shepherd.I just don't want to wait until I'm 80 years old to be called into ministry like Moses was.

So I'm being trained to be a pastor. A shepherd of people. I mop the floors and clean toilets,  I set up and I take down. I have even picked up unspeakable things out in the parking lot.
"How would that particular item get onto the ground?" I ask myself feeling a bit defiled.

"I'm beginning to smell like my sheep". This is the  "in thing" for a pastor to say these days. Let me translate for you who don't yet know how to speak Christianize.

This little blurb means that the pastor has the earnest desire to know his sheep.A kinda "in the trench"  service man with the whole "out in the field"  sort of sheep smell. Please don't learn any Christianize if you don't already know some.

Lately, I cant wait to get home from church and wash off. We are such hypocrites. Drama filled, self pitying and very proud people. Wanting instant gratification with little or no effort. As the church universal we really do act like a giant herd of sheep. Following the lamb in front of us rather than keeping our eyes on Jesus. 

We all need to grow up!  Stop soaking in only the pure milk of the word. But begin chewing on some tough meat. The meat of the word is really just applying what we are learning. Yes, growing up into spiritual maturity.  But unfortunately, we usually are looking  for the right message or worship team to satisfy us. Have you ever heard "I didn't get anything out of the pastor's message" ?

Its not about us. Not us, not us, not us. Let me put it all into perspective. Its all about Jesus! It is not about you. You are just another spiritual brick in the wall. So lets all shut up our mouths and quit all the crying.

Now let me take a step back, breathe in  and out in an attempt to encourage you. Please find out what your spiritual gifts are. Make peace with others around you. Smile, laugh and cry with other real human beings. Plant your feet firmly in God's word and start growing! Produce fruit.Abide on the vine.

The night before Jesus went to the cross, He broke bread and poured wine into a cup. The disciples on the other hand were all busy arguing about who was the greatest among them. So Jesus stops what He was doing, puts a towel around His waist and washes all of their feet. Maybe there is something to be said about a pastor smelling of his sheep?  Jesus modeled servant hood for us all at a time when He could have been very self centered. But Jesus is not only our shepherd-king but our servant-leader.

So while I feel just fine to hug a homeless man who stinks to high heaven I'm not too happy about all the rest of the sheep in the sanctuary who on the outside look and smell clean but inside stink like Lazarus being four days in the tomb. Whitewashed sepulchers. They are the ones screaming "mine, mine, mine" or just really want to be lifted up before others. Nothing has changed since Jesus washed the disciple's feet 2000 years ago.

So I'm thankful for pastors who  take their time to teach the ins and outs of Christian living to all of us. And I have seen  pastors who do wash feet regularly, just like Jesus did. Maybe not with soap, water and a towel but with their lives. They put so much time  into all of us. So maybe we better all pick up some slack for them, mortar up our  mouths and start by just being content as another spiritual brick in the wall.